Rainbow's Quest

by Zetriax

Our Time is Running Out

Chapter 30- Our Time is Running Out
Tick… tick… tick…
The sound echoed in Rainbow’s ears. It was the unhalting cadence of time marching towards its impending doom. Images of the world, everything she ever knew, being sucked into the black abyss known as the Void drifted before her closed eyes. Everything was dwindling to its final moments. There were only two days left; time was running short.
Tick… tick… tick…
Yet here she was, dreaming of the very end she ought to be trying to prevent. But wakefulness refused her call. Sleep held her in the darkness, restraining her from the real world. For some reason, she just would not wake up.
Tick… tick… tick…
“You tried to stop yourself from reaching the future, have you?” a voice echoed in her head over the ticking. “You should know not to mess with fate.”
“Who’s speaking to me?” Rainbow asked.
Tick… tick… tick…
“I am your future. Just as I am your past. You cannot escape me. You will be swept along by the currents of time no matter how hard you resist. You will continue to flow with me towards your inevitable demise. I control time. No, I am time!”
Tick… tick… tick...!
The ticking was growing louder, ringing through Rainbow’s ears with renewed intensity. The pounding was causing her a headache.
“What do you want from me?” she cried.
“I am already getting what I want from you. Very soon, all will be corrected. At least, it will be restored to what it ought to be.”
Tick… Tick… Tick…!
“Restored? What will be corrected?”
“The world…”
TICK!!! TICK!!! TICK!!!
---
Rainbow’s bolted upright, eyes open and chest heaving. Sweat slicked her body and the scent of fear wreathed around her. The pounding in her skull mimicked the rhythm of the stopwatch’s ticking, which lay beside her on the floor, opened.
The stylized dragon on the inside seemed to glare at her simultaneously as it watched over the thirteen days below it. There were one and a half days left; noon had already passed. Rainbow had slept through half the day.
Rainbow rubbed her throbbing head with a hoof. Letting out an exasperated sigh, she snapped the watch shut and put it on over her head. The barely audible ticking of the watch warned her of how little time that was left. She had to find a way back.
The cyan pegasus stood and brushed the dirt from her shoulder. She marched over to the window and swung it open to find herself in the same nightmare that had taken place just three days prior. Frost covered the ground and cold wind buffeted her feathers. Clouds swirled ominously overhead and the occasional thunderclap resounded through the town. The Fallen had definitely returned.
“What can I do?” she said to herself. It was unlikely she’d be able to rally up an army like before, but she couldn’t sit idly by and watch her town be destroyed; not after having come so far. She just had to do something.
Then it came to her. “How could I have forgotten?” she admonished herself. She had come to the past to get the Element of Loyalty, not chase around her past self. If she could get the Element, return to the future, get the Fate Stone from Chrono, and return to her own time, surely the whole Temporal Distortion would be resolved. Rainbow’s destination was Canterlot. There was no time to waste.
---
Rainbow landed roughly, skidding into the castle entrance. A few guards cast wary glances at her, but didn’t try to block her. The cyan pegasus dashed through the halls and burst into the throne room, where three surprised alicorns turned to see the intruder.
Suddenly, Rainbow wondered if she might have been better off going directly to the tower that contained the Elements. That may have prevented her having to explain everything.
“Which Rainbow are you?” Princess Twilight asked.
“Future. Now, listen. Ponyville is being attacked by the Fallen and I need my Element of Harmony to fix the Distortion that caused them.”
“Excuse me?” Celestia said.
Rainbow rolled her eyes in impatience. There wasn’t time to explain the mechanics of Temporal Distortions and the Fallen and the Void. “Just let me have the Element so I can travel into the future and stop Chrono from destroying the world. If I can manage it, you can study all you like to find out what a Temporal Distortion is. Tomorrow is the End of Times. I need to hurry!”
Twilight stepped up to Rainbow and put a wing over her shoulder. “I understand that you mean well, but what will that help?”
Rainbow sighed. “Okay, there’s this door on the top floor of the Clockwork Tower that Chrono is behind that can only be unlocked using the Elements of Harmony. However, Dash stole the Loyalty Element, sealing the door unless I can get this one.”
“I don’t really underst—“
“You don’t have to understand!” Rainbow interrupted. “Twilight, the world ends tomorrow! If you don’t trust me, the very ground we’re standing on will be nothing! Not even a memory! I know it must be difficult to believe everything I’m telling you, but you have to have faith. That’s why I represent Loyalty; I’m always there to pull through when you need me most. And right now, you need me a pretty damn bunch. So, please. Just… let me do this.”
The three princesses were silent. Rainbow hoped she didn’t say anything too out of line. Just then Celestia and Luna nodded their assent. Twilight looked into Rainbow’s eyes and smiled. “Follow me,” she said. Relief flowed through Rainbow’s body. She took off after her friend in the direction of the Tower of the Elements.
---
There it was. The golden necklace with the red, lightning bolt pendant was just before her. At this very moment, it felt as precious to her as the Fate Stone itself. This was it. This was her way back. It felt strange. This whole time, she had been trying to reach the past. Now, more than anything, she wanted to return to the future. She wanted to be with Scoots, Jade, and Shadow. Together, they would stop Chrono from destroying the world.
Rainbow lifted the Element from its pedestal and fastened it around her neck. She had borne this weapon to defend Equestria many times. However, this time. She was defending the entire world.
“I suppose this is goodbye,” said Twilight.
Rainbow turned to face her. “No. I’m going to the future so that we don’t have to say goodbye. I will protect us from the end. Then all of this confusing time stuff will have never happened.”
Twilight gazed into Rainbow’s eyes. “You don’t really want that, do you? I can tell that you’ve changed quite a bit. You are who you are now because of the friends you’ve made in the future.”
“How did you…?” Rainbow gaped.
“I know how it is when you make a friend. They can change how you view life. I hope that, whoever it is you met will be in your future in the non-warped timeline as well.”
“Thanks Twilight.” Rainbow smiled and they hugged, wrapping their wings around each other.
They released each other as the Element began to glow brightly. Rainbow glimpsed Twilight waving at her as the light engulfed her in its warmth. She felt herself moving forward through time. She shot through the timeline like a bullet, racing towards her target in the ominous Clockwork Tower.
Then something went wrong. She was standing in the Canterlot Castle throne room once again. Celestia and Luna were upon their thrones talking together in hushed tones. Twilight was nowhere in sight. However, there was something odd about this place. It didn’t seem quite right. Nopony had seemed to notice her, so she dashed for cover. As soon as she reached a hiding spot behind a large pillar, a bolt of lightning arced to the ground from thin air in the center of the room. Rainbow shielded her eyes from the sudden light. Whatever was happening out there, she had a feeling it wasn’t good.